Dollhouse
by MewtwoOnAFlyingApe
Summary: (Based on the song by Melanie Martinez.) Madeline remembers the times when they had been perfect. Now she sits and wonders when her father will cheat on her mother next, or when her mother will get drunk again, or whether Alfred will be high again. She hates it. She really does.
**You know, I just want to thank everyone for visiting my stories. So, I took a glance at my Traffic Stats and decided to thank my readers from the countries that came up: United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Australia, Malaysia, Germany, Singapore, Mexico, Indonesia, Phillipines, Netherlands, Thailand, Italy, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Spain, Japan, Brazil, Slovenia, Belgium, China, Czech Republic, India, Russia, Argentina, Chile, Slovakia, Darussalam, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Ireland, Colombia, Israel, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Reunion, Qatar, Taiwan, and Bulgaria.**

 **I never thought that my writing would have been enjoyed by so many people from different countries, wow. Thank you so much guys!** **And, of course, if your country didn't appear in the above, thank you too!**

 **Warnings: Cheating/mentioned sex, mentioned drug use, mentioned alcohol drinking, sliiiightly mentioned self hatred, sliiiightly mentioned eating disorder.**

 **This is based on the song "Dollhouse" by Melanie Martinez. It's a gorgeous song, do take the time to look at it.**

* * *

 ** _D - O - L - L - H - O - U - S - E_**  
 _Hey girl, open the walls._

"Mum! Hey, mummy, look!"

Alfred is running through the lawn, laughter and happiness spreading across his childish features as he scampers up to Mum. With an innocent expression, he thrusts a small sunflower in front of her face. She takes the flower that her younger son offered her, a dainty smile curling upon her beautiful face. She leans forward to run her fingers through Alfred's hair, whispering something into his ear that I couldn't hear, which caused him to beam. Mum looks up, her eyes searching, before her shimmering emerald eyes met mine, seemingly beckoning me over. I ran over as fast as my short, chubby legs would allow, soft laughter tinkering through the air as she lifts me up onto her lap.

"Hello, Madeline," Mum whispers to me, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of my forehead. Happiness swells in my tiny chest as I press my face into her shoulder, gripping the sleeve of her dress. Alfred joins me on Mum's lap, attempting to curl his small arms around both of us. Mum laughs again, pressing both of us closer to her chest. I breathe in the scent of tea and books that represents my mother, letting out a small sigh of contentness.

I can hear a heavily accented voice calling for our mother, who looked up and laughed as our father walks up, his blonde hair falling in wavy tresses to his shoulders. With a small chuckle, he settles himself next to our mother, kissing her on the lips with passion gleaming in both of their eyes. At this, Alfred scrunches up his nose and makes a disgusted noise in the back of his throat. I just smile, watching my parents communicate with small touches and gestures, happiness reflected in both of their gazes. Somewhere in the back of my mind, even though I was young, something told me that this wouldn't last forever. And yet, I ignored that little voice. Maybe I should have listened...

* * *

 _ **D - O - L - L - H - O - U - S - E**_  
 _Play with your dolls._

Staring into the mirror, I see the glint of my bright, pearly teeth. I attempt to flatten my hair for what felt like the millionth time, however one strand still curled in front of my face. With a frustrated sigh, I scurry over to my bed and tuck the covers neatly over the mattress. I can hear the click of the doorknob as my bedroom door swings open, revealing the smiling face of Papa. I shuffle my feet in a nervous manner, staring at him as he moves over to my bed, sitting on it and patting the spot next to him. I climb over the covers, careful not to ruffle them, and sit down next to my father.

"Madeline. I know you're worrying about school, and how the kids there will be. It's okay. I think every person was nervous on their first day of school. I was, your mother was, even the old lady next door was a little scared," I giggled at the thought of the elderly Ms. Kimberly being nervous about school, and Papa offers me a comforting look. He tweaks my nose before continuing, his voice soothing, "You'll have Alfred with you, and you'll be fine. Okay, princess?"

"Okay, Papa!" I exclaim, my spirits lifting at the encouragement that Papa gave me. I threw my arms around his waist, squeezing him tightly as he presses a kiss to the top of my temple. Not even a few moments later, Mum steps into my room, smiling with encouragement in her eyes.

"Are you ready, Madeline?" She asks, walking over to grab my bookbag and draw it over one shoulder. I nod, reaching up to grasp her hand. She smiles at Papa, a teasing spark in her eyes. "Love you, frog."

Papa chuckles, blowing a kiss at Mum as he replies, "Love you too, Alice."

* * *

 **D - O - L - L - H - O - U - S - E**  
 _We'll be a perfect family._

I watch with slight anger as my elder brother walks alongside Ivan Braginski and Gilbert Beilschmidt, the school troublemakers. I am still young, at the ripe age of nine, but I am smart enough to realize that my brother will get in trouble with those fools. He doesn't seem to realize this as they traipse through the playground, chins tilted high and pride gleaming in their eyes. They look at the younger children as if they are small, pesky flies that need to get out of their way. Alfred doesn't seem to realize anything is wrong.

He doesn't seem to realize that he is setting an example for our younger brother, Peter. Peter absolutely adores Alfred, and even though he is only three, wants to go everywhere with him and he wants to do everything that Alfred does. At the thought of this, I sigh, resisting the urge to go up to Alfred and tell him exactly what I think about his so called "friends". Instead, I turn around to face Kiku and offer him a warm smile, watching him extend his hand for me to take.

"I know what you are thinking, Madeline-kun," Kiku speaks, his voice soft and understanding as I grasp his gentle hand in my tremoring one, "You think that Alfred is the bane of your family's destruction. I doubt that things will get too bad with your family. After all, your father loves your mother to death. It is quite obvious to anyone that sees the two of them. Alfred is going through a phase, and he'll be fine later on. You'll see."

"Thank you, Kiku," I murmur, offering Kiku a shy smile. The young Japanese boy flushes up to the tips of his ears, offering a warm smile and a nod of approval in response. We then sit on the swings together, speaking with soft tones and a comfortable atmosphere. I could tell Kiku anything, just like he could tell me anything. He was the best friend I could ever wish for, and he gave the best hugs that were reserved only for me.

I was the happiest I had been in my life.

* * *

 ** _D - O - L - L - H - O - U - S - E_**  
 _When you walk away, it's when we really play._

I am walking away from the school, a content demeanor surrounding my being. Taking the moment to look to the shining sky, a slight crimson tinges my cheeks. I cannot help but be happy and enjoy the fluttering of butterflies in my belly, because my crush is walking alongside me. Kiku is walking with his arms curled around his books, holding them in a protective manner against his chest.

"Madeline, can I tell you something?" He asks, a tinge of nervousness in his voice. I perk up, directing my amethyst gaze to meet Kiku's chocolate brown.

"Of course, Kiku!" I respond cheerfully. He offers me a weak smile. I notice then that he looks so exhausted, and he seemed to have lost a bit of weight. But why? He had been fine last time I could remember checking...

"Perhaps you should sit down for this," Kiku suggests, maneuvering his way from the sidewalk to a small, wooden bench. I follow him, trudging through the muddy grass and plopping down next to him. Kiku begins to wring his hands with nervousness, "I - I don't know how to put this Madeline..."

"It's okay, Kiku." I pipe up, covering his hand with mine and casting him a worried look. "You can tell me anything! We're best friends, after all."

Kiku shakes his head, his eyes shimmering. Was he about to cry? It certainly seemed like it, from the way he twisted his head away and brought a hand up to his face.  
"Madeline, I have cancer," Kiku speaks, his tone soft, as if he were talking to a young child, "I don't have very long to live. B - but I just wanted to tell you that I've had a c - crush on you for quite a long time. I understand if you don't return the feelings - "

I launch myself into Kiku's arms, sobbing about how I loved him and cared for him and I didn't want him to go because my heart beat when I was around him, I felt as if I was flying. I snuffled that I loved him, too, with snot and tears streaming down my face as he held me to his chest.

 _((He had been far too young, and I saw that as I stared at his crippled form. His dull brown gaze stared up at me, tears leaking out of his eyes. He sighed and allowed his eyes to flutter shut. He stopped breathing, and I stopped caring about the world.))_

* * *

 ** _D - O - L - L - H - O - U - S - E_**  
 _You don't hear me when I say..._

Mum strides up to me, placing a kiss on my cheek as she hurries past, getting ready for work. Papa has been going to work early and returning later then he usually does, however he says that he is working longer hours so that he can earn a little more money. Mum and Alfred accept his words, however I cannot stop myself from being suspicious.

"Have fun at your first day of middle school, Madeline! Give Alfred some love for me, alright, sweetheart?" I nod as I wrap my arms around her, pulling back and watching her bright emerald eyes sparkle in the early sun. I can't help but notice that her eyes do not twinkle as brightly as they did when I was a child.

"Peter!" Mum calls as she passes by the sleepy child that was munching on a spoonful of Cheerios. Peter looks up, blinking his sky blue eyes and giving Mum the same look that Alfred had given her as a child; eager, happy, and excited, "Behave today, won't you? Don't give the teacher a hard time!"

"'Kay, mum," Peter calls out, his expression dropping and he spoke with a bored tone in his voice, "Love you."

"I love you too, Peter," Mum places a kiss on his forehead as she grabs her purse off the kitchen counter, giving one last final wave before she exits the house. I can hear the click of the lock as she locks the door, and I can hear her car starting as she backs out of the driveway. I sighed to myself, my shoulders slumping with exhaustion.

She had no idea that Alfred had never returned from his friend's house last night.

Peter looks over at me, his expression resembling one of someone who had gotten caught doing something wrong. I knew we both were doing something wrong by covering for Alfred, but we were his siblings. I didn't think I could tell on him, anyways, and Peter loved him far too much to make a fuss about it.

I had known that Beilschmidt and Braginski were trouble, but my brother had never listened, had he?

* * *

 ** _D - O - L - L - H - O - U - S - E_**  
 _Mom, please wake up..._

I had never seen Mum as angry as she had been as she arrives home that same night. I am tapping my pencil on the kitchen table when the door slams open with a loud bang. Jumping to my feet, I hurry to the door to see tears of anger and frustration streaming down my mother's face.

"Mum?" I ask, eyeing her worriedly. Had she found out about Alfred skipping school to spend time with his friends today? She lets out a loud sob, shutting the door and locking it behind her. Her mascara is running down her cheeks, her entire body trembling as she leans against the door for support.

"Your father is a traitor, Madeline." She says with a hint of betrayal and anger in her voice. "He was never working overtime. He didn't even show up at work today. I called to ask his boss why he was working so much, and he hasn't been at all..." She breaks off with another sob.

"Then where has he been getting the extra money - " I stopped as everything clicked in the smallest crevice of my mind; the slight snappiness with my mother, the guilty looks he wore when he looked her directly in the eyes, the sorrowful expressions he wore when he said goodbye to Alfred, Peter, and myself. A tear slips down my cheek, "H - he was sleeping with different people to get money, wasn't he...?"

Mum just nods, hurrying down the hallway with her high heels clicking against the wooden floor, wiping her eyes as she does so. I follow, watching as she pulls a flask out of the liquor cabinet before she turns to me with a soft sigh and spoke with a sharp voice. "Madeline, why don't you go and work on your homework?"

"O - okay mum." I speak with a softer tone, stepping out of the study I had followed her into and shutting the door behind me. I walk into the kitchen and shut my eyes, silent tears streaming down my cheeks.

"Why did you have to this, dad?" I sighed as I gathered my textbooks and notebooks into my arms and started heading up the stairs to continue with my homework. As I drop my stuff onto my bed, Peter steps into my room, his eyes wide and glossy with unshed tears.

"M - Madeline, why is Alfred not home? And what did Papa do?"  
I was unable to hold back the gutwrenching, heaving sob that caused Peter to start crying as well.

* * *

 _ **D - O - L - L - H - O - U - S - E**_  
 _Dad's with a slut..._

I can hear the angry shouts of my parents echoing throughout the house. My father defends himself loudly and says that he had made a honest mistake and that he would never do it again. My mother screams at him, her voice broken and cracking as he tells him how much he has hurt our family.

It is a little while later when I finish my Algebra homework that I muster up the courage to descend the stairs. My mother is sitting at the kitchen table with her head in her hands, an empty wine glass sitting in front of her. She looks up at me when I enter, a weak smile crossing over her lips.

"Madeline..," She rasps, gesturing me over, just like she did when I was a child. A small twitch of her head was all that she needed to make me understand what I needed to do. I sit down on one of the chairs, crossing one of my legs over the other and tucking my hands under my thighs.

"Mum," I say, my voice much stronger than I thought it would have been, "Where's Papa at? Did he leave...?"

Mum frowns, shaking her head. Silence lingers in the air for a few moments before she speaks in a tentative voice, "I don't think I could ever tell him to leave here permanently, Madeline... I'm rather sure he wouldn't do anything like that again, anyhow."

 _Where did my mother's backbone go?_ I thought, but I didn't speak that aloud. Instead, I mumbled, "Are you sure, Mum?"

"I'm positive, Madeline. I wouldn't lie to you. You know that, don't you?" My mother speaks while reaching over to thread her fingers into my wavy blond hair. I nod, and she leans over to press a kiss to my forehead before staggering out of the kitchen in an exhausted manner. I wrinkle my nose in disgust, reaching up to wipe away the sloppy kiss she had given me.

Her breath smelled like alcohol.

* * *

 _ **D - O - L - L - H - O - U - S - E**_  
 _And your son is smoking cannabis._

For some reason, I was surprised when I found out where Alfred had been going all along. I stood dumbfounded in the doorway as I saw my brother sprawled out on the bed, snoring. I crept closer to his bedside and stared down on the nightstand, making sure my eyes were not failing me. He had been smoking.

I was rather sure they weren't normal cigarettes, either. I shook the packet, then sighed quietly, setting them back down. I stared at my brother, shame bubbling in my belly, before I shook my head and fought back tears. Everything had fallen apart.

I shut my brother's bedroom door, creeping down the stairs. I stepped lightly into the kitchen, hoping to get my dinner and go back to bed. Exhaustion had forced its way into my mind, making itself evident when I yawned.

For some reason, I just didn't think it was physical exhaustion, either. I was exhausted with what was happening to my family; my father cheating, my mother drinking, my brother smoking. I was worried about Peter; I had heard him berating himself as he stared directly into the mirror.

Peter had thought everything was his fault. His eyes had been full of hatred and he was trembling with restrained sobs. I had left as quickly as I had came.

 _I didn't know what to do anymore._

 _I didn't want to do anything anymore_ _._

 _I wasn't worth anything anymore._

I shut my eyes and then opened them, staring at the refrigerator. I wasn't hungry anymore. I walked away, the heavy feeling in my belly increasing. The thought of eating anything while my family was being torn apart like this made me sick.

* * *

 **I didn't even finish the song. Damn. I was hoping it wouldn't get THAT long, but now the lyrics seem kind of insignificant. Oh well. If you enjoyed it, please leave some constructive critism! :D**


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